Decellularized Aortic Scaffold Alleviates H₂O₂-Induced Inflammation and Apoptosis in CD34+ Progenitor Cells While Driving Neovasculogenesis

Figure 6

CD34+ progenitor cell transplantation using a decellularized aortic scaffold induces vascularization in a hind-limb ischemia model of nude mice. CD34+ progenitor cells were mixed with Matrigel (CD34+ Matrigel group) or seeded onto the decellularized aortic scaffold and subcutaneously implanted into nude mice. The decellularized aortic scaffold without cell seeding was used as the control group. After 2 weeks of implantation, the ischemic limb tissues were retrieved for histological analysis (a–c). H&E staining indicated the presence of many microvessels with functionality in the aortic construct (many red blood cells can be seen in these microvessels). The in vivo differentiation of CD34+ cells into ECs and SMCs was detected by immunohistochemical staining for VWF and α-SMA (d–i). VWF-positive or α-SMA-positive cells in the CD34+ scaffold group were indicated by red arrows. Scale bar: 100 μm.